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If you dropped a few hundred on an iPod a couple of years ago and now its battery can't hold a charge, don't throw up your hands and buy a new one; explore the options.

Apple's been accused of not making iPod battery replacement easy (a technology company planning obsolescence?! crazy!) but since the issue was raised, Apple started a replacement program. It'll cost you, though. For just over a hundred bucks (with shipping) you can trade in your dead iPod for a live (used/refurbished, wtf?) one.

Cheaper options: if you're not afraid of prying open the case, buy yourself a battery replacement kit and break out the tools. Lots of non-Apple retailers sell iPod battery replacements. For the hardware-impaired, some of them will even do the swap for you (often at cheaper rates than Apple's program, which sends you a different iPod, rather than repairing the one you send them.) Alternately, there are external backup batteries that can save you both money and case-prying.